Panty liners are absorbent products that are used to absorb small amounts of bodily fluids such as urine and blood. Panty liners are smaller in size than sanitary towels or incontinence pads and are intended to be used for everyday freshness and to protect lingerie, i.e. briefs. There are several kind of briefs on the market today: traditional briefs that have a crotch portion that is relatively broad, hipster-type of briefs that have a relatively narrow crotch portion and thong-type briefs that have a very narrow crotch portion followed by an even narrower rear portion so as to expose all or significant portion of the buttocks of the user. Due to many different brief models it has been difficult in the prior art to optimize the shape and size of the panty liners such that a reliable protection is obtained while the panty liner is comfortable and discreet to wear.
There have been several attempts in the prior art to solve problems with adapting the absorbent products to thong-type briefs. EP1757257 A2 and EP 1138294, respectively, disclose panty liners comprising a core which is adaptable to thong-type briefs. However, while these products may be adaptable to thong-type briefs, they do not provide an optimal comfort and feeling of secure protection when used with traditional briefs or with hipster-type briefs, since neither the shape of the absorbent product itself nor the shape of the core conforms to the anatomy of the user or is shaped to be adapted to that kind of underwear. Thus, there is a need for an absorbent product that can be worn with different types of underwear while optimal comfortability and protection can be provided.